Part of Kochi Smart City gets SEZ status

The ministry of Commerce has granted Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status to 132 acres of the the proposed 246-acre Smart City project at Kochi. The remaining 114 acres of land is also expected to be granted the SEZ status soon.

The project area is divided by a river, hence the separate notifications for the two parts. Tecom, the overseas partner in the project, clarified that the civil work on the project would commence only after getting SEZ status for the full area.

The project, which was in doldrums for the last three years, has taken off after the top brass of the Dubai-based Tecom settled all the pending issues through discussions with the chief minister of Kerala.

 

A consensus has been reached between the two parties to give Tecom 29.5 acres of freehold land in the site without the right to sell. Last week, the government and Tecom have formally signed the lease agreement for 99 years.